Darkness to Light
by Velace
Summary: Zombie AU: Former Officer of the BPD Emma Swan finds herself fulfilling the role of leader as she tries to survive the end of the world. With the arrival of one Regina Mills, it may not be as bad as she thinks.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: **I know. _ANOTHER ONE? _I want to know if you guys like it, because if you don't then I'm going to delete it and force my damned muse to focus on one of the already published stories. So tell me what you think.

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><p>Emma stood on the platform overlooking the road, rifle slung across her shoulder, a machete sheathed at her hip and a styrofoam cup full of hot coffee in her hand. It was morning, sometime around six if she were to hazard a guess and she was stuck with guard duty. She hated morning shifts on the wall—though in all honesty, she hated mornings altogether; the quiet, the chill, the poor vision brought on by thick fog that made it almost impossible to see more than ten feet in front of her.<p>

Regardless, someone had to watch over their little haven at all hours and it just so happened to be her draw for the week. David would join her in another two- three hours, but until then she had to suffer the boredom that came with the morning shift in silence while she mourned the loss of a nice, warm bed she left behind four hours earlier when Graham had woken her.

Raising the cup to her mouth, she hummed as the bitter liquid slid down her throat and warmed her from the inside out.

Four months ago and she would have gagged at the thought of having to drink her coffee black, a month after the end of the world and she was simply grateful that coffee still existed thanks to their resident green thumb who claimed it would continue to do so as long as she still breathed.

Granny was the name, and food was her game—drinks included, according to her at least. Emma liked the older woman; she was a no nonsense type with a quick wit and even quicker trigger finger. The woman could arm and shoot a crossbow faster than the blink of an eye, which was merely a bonus considering everyone loved her far more for her ability to turn a can of soup into a five star meal.

Emma smiled as she spied the garden from the corner of her eye and her mind wandered to other members of their group, most notably the newest arrivals. Mother and son who had looked as though they'd been to Hell and back, yet still managed to take down three zombies and save the life of Emma's best friend.

As if the thought was enough to summon him, a sound from behind had Emma looking over her shoulder in time to see the boy ascend the ladder to the platform and her smile widened.

Turning back to the road, he joined her at the wall a moment later and stood silently beside her. He barely ever spoke to anyone, his mother being the rare exception and Emma never tried to lure him into conversation, though she would sometimes talk and he would listen. The two had arrived almost two weeks ago, welcomed in to their fold after Ruby told the group of how she met them and what they did for her.

For some reason, the boy developed an attachment to Emma that no one could explain. His mother had cornered her once, a couple of days after they arrived and warned her about what would happen if any harm came to him; something Emma had taken to heart ever since. The fact it had been unnecessary went unsaid and she had nodded her head in understanding, knowing the moment had been more for the woman as his mother, rather than any real perceived threat of danger while in her company.

Glancing down at him when he tugged the sleeve of her jacket, she followed the direction his finger pointed and raised her rifle. On the second day they spent together, he proved himself a valuable watcher when he spotted a horde in the distance that she had missed due to the rain impeding her sight, and she had trusted his ever since.

As expected, a form shambled slowly toward the walls but when she attempted to take aim, he tugged her sleeve again. Lowering the gun, she raised her eyebrow and he held up his hand, signalling there was more than one before he jogged to the other end of the platform where Graham's crossbow sat.

Picking it up, he looked back to her with a question in his eyes and she inclined her head with a small smile. Aligning her eye with the scope once more, Emma watched as an arrow embedded itself in the first corpses head, then grimaced as she followed his aim to the second and witnessed the arrow penetrating its eye.

"Is there a reason my son is doing your job, Miss Swan?"

Emma huffed and waited until a third was downed before she resettled the rifle against her back and turned her attention to the brunette. "Is 'because he wanted to' a sufficient reason, Your Majesty? Or shall I take a moment and make one up for you to appropriately analyse and then tell me how much of an idiot I am, as per usual."

"No need, dear," Regina smirked. "You provide plenty of reason to call you an idiot in spite of current events and besides, making something up requires thinking and I would hate for you to hurt yourself."

"Ha," Emma mock laughed and rolled her eyes. "That was almost as funny and original as a yo mama joke."

Before Regina could respond, Henry sauntered back across the platform and interrupted their childish banter as she immediately focused on her son. "Enjoying yourself, dear?"

He nodded, cheeks dimpling with a grin that had the same effect on both women as it relieved the tension between them and they softened. Taking the weapon from him, Emma sat it against the wall and ruffled his hair before gesturing to his mother. "Thanks for the help, kid; I look forward to future lessons on how to be a badass mime."

"Language," Regina chided and Emma poked out her tongue. "Very mature, Miss Swan."

"Very mature, Miss Swan," Emma mimicked with another roll of her eyes and turned back to the road, smirking as an irritated huff reached her ears before mother and son disappeared down the ladder.

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><p>"I see you found the little ninja." Ruby grinned as she came to stand beside Regina, both watching as Henry made his way over to a table and slipped into the small gap between David and Killian, the former pushing a plate to the boy who accepted the food happily and started eating.<p>

Regina hummed. "He was with your irritating blonde friend again," she said with a small smile. Though he rarely spoke, Henry had no trouble fitting in with the group and while she could not for the life of her figure out his fascination with the Swan woman, she supposed he could have done worse.

An impossibly loud belch startled her from her thoughts and she glanced over to another table where four men sat, nose wrinkling in disgust as her eyes landed on one in particular. Leroy, she concluded, was one such person she thought of as worse; loud, obnoxious and ill-mannered were all traits she would prefer not passed on to her son.

"You really should give her a chance; she's not nearly as bad as you seem to think. She's loyal, protective and hard working, not to mention the fact Henry seems to have taken a shine to her."

Regina's shoulder lifted in a shrug. There was something about the blonde that rubbed her the wrong way; she hadn't bothered to dissect the feeling and saw no real purpose to dwell on it. The two were as civil to one another as they could be, worked together when they had to. As long as they weren't trying to kill one another, she didn't see why they had to be friends, something with which Ruby seemed to disagree.

"Your loss," Ruby sing-songed, ignoring the disbelieving snort as she asked, "Coffee should be done, want one?"

"That—" A hand flew to cover Regina's mouth, muffling the sound of a yawn that tore from her throat. When it passed, her hand dropped to her side and she completed the sentence with an uneasy smile, "—would be nice."

"Go sit down and I'll bring it to you," Ruby chuckled and bounced off to the area at the back of the room, a make-shift kitchen in the corner where nine times out of ten, one would find Granny fussing over food supplies and muttering about the inconvenience of an apocalypse when it comes to decent ingredients.

Moving over to her son, Regina inwardly groaned and braced herself for conversation with the pixie-headed woman. Mary Margaret, or Snow—depending on which one a person thought the least ridiculous. Personally, Regina was still undecided on that front. "Room for another?" she asked, barely restraining the desire to flee when giant green eyes focused on her.

"Of course!" Mary Margaret beamed and scooted across the seat as she spoke, "We were just discussing who would accompany Emma on her next trip into the city."

Taking her seat, Regina raised an eyebrow and questioned, "Would it not make sense to ask Miss Swan who she wants to go with her?"

David and Killian nodded their agreement but Mary Margaret waved dismissively. "When the time comes, she'll ask for a volunteer and we'll end up deciding; might as well sort it out now."

Looking to those at the table, Regina noted the absence of at least three people, two of which had accompanied Emma on her last run and she turned back to the woman with a frown. "As I understand it, she only asks when her choice is unavailable. Graham is the one most likely to go with her and if not him, then Ruby. Did you think to include them in this little meeting?"

"What meeting?" Ruby chimed in as she walked over to them, handing Regina her coffee before she smacked Killian and told him to move. Once he relocated to the other side, she patted Henry on the head and sat next to him.

"Snow thought we should figure out who will accompany Emma into the city tomorrow," David supplied.

"Ah that. Yeah, you don't need to do that," she informed and Regina's eyes narrowed as Ruby then looked to her with a grin. "Emma already made her choice."

Jaw clenched, Regina stood abruptly and glared down at them as she stated, "Leader or not; if she wants me to go, then she damn well better ask first." Snatching her coffee from the table, she stormed off without another word.

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><p>As Emma finished zipping her jeans, she noticed someone was waiting on the other side of the door for her and the comment David made before she took off as if her ass was on fire flashed through her mind. She breathed a sigh of resignation and braced herself, swinging open the door and coming face to face with Regina who appeared far less upset than David implied.<p>

Slipping passed her as she refused to budge from her spot, Emma rolled her eyes and made her way over to the shelf stacked with wipes, tugging one from a packet before she turned back around and waited for the brunette to provide a reason as to why she was once again being cornered- in the bathroom of all places.

Regina stepped towards her in what Emma assumed was an attempt at intimidation, which seemed absurd considering she was almost half a foot taller than the brunette and the one in possession of a gun. "Tell me, Miss Swan; were you planning on informing me that I would be joining you tomorrow night, or are the newbies not given a choice?"

Eyebrow raised, Emma tossed the wipe to the bin next to her and folded her arms across her chest. It came as no surprise to her that Ruby had let slip her intention, as she was likely the closest thing Regina had to a friend but the woman clearly hadn't been paying attention over the two weeks in their company if she thought Emma would force anyone to do anything.

"I ask very few things of the people here in exchange for protecting them, keeping them fed, and warm, and clothed…" Emma paused to make certain she had her attention before she went on, "Not once, have I made anyone do something they were unable or uncomfortable in doing. I allow them to make their own choices, to choose their own tasks each week and I _only _take volunteers on runs."

Dropping her arms to her side, Emma took a step closer and tilted her head as she continued, "I expressed a desire for you to join me because I like to know the people that make up our little community. I have been told that you are capable of protecting yourself, you're a more than adequate sniper and you're able to keep a cool head under pressure."

One more step forward and they were barely a breath apart, her voice impossibly soft as she finished, "I doubt none of these things, but would like the opportunity to see them; if you don't wish to join me, then don't."

After a moment in which Emma waited for a response, none came and she pulled back. Looking into brown eyes, she saw a number of things play through them; intrigue, annoyance and buried beneath the two was something she had sought from the start of their first meeting; defiance.

Emma loved nothing more than someone who challenged her; it was the one thing she missed when the world went to shit. Everyone she had come across since looked to her as though she were some blessed Savior come to rescue them from the big, bad monsters.

Satisfied with the find, she allowed a smirk to grace her lips and brushed passed the brunette. She paused as she pushed open the door. "I leave at sundown tomorrow, you'll have until then to make your decision," she said and exited the building, heading back to the wall to finish the rest of her shift.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note: **Well that was a better response than I expected, so I hope this doesn't disappoint.

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><p>Regina looked up from the ground at the sound of her name and seeing that it was Graham coming towards her, she went back to her task of collecting the arrows from the corpses that littered the ground surrounding their walls. As zombies were scarce during daylight hours, it was a rather mundane assignment but it gave her some time away from everyone else.<p>

She found it difficult to think clearly when others were about, their constant chatter always distracting; more so when she was coerced to join in and contribute to whichever hare brained thought they were discussing at the time. Sometimes it was hard to remember it was the end of the world, at least until you were holding a dead body by the throat while you yanked an arrowhead from its skull.

"I packed a bag for you," Graham said as he came closer and Regina gave a noncommittal hum. "Ruby says we're the closest match when it comes to how we fight, so I don't think I missed anything you'll need. There's a small compartment inside the pack where the ammo for the pistol is stored, though you shouldn't need it; Emma rarely gets in to trouble on a run."

"That's somewhat reassuring," Regina murmured as she stood, slipping the arrows into the quiver on her back. She grimaced at the state of her hands and shuddered, wiping them on her pants. "Sometimes I wonder if being one of them would be less repulsive."

"Probably," Graham replied and smirked. "At least until someone came along and decided to use your guts as zombie repellent."

Raising her gaze to the sky, Regina swallowed down the nausea that rose in her throat. She had done that once, when the building she and Henry had camped out in one night was surrounded by a horde the next morning. It was a thoroughly disgusting experience she would much rather forget.

"Sorry," Graham offered with a nudge of his shoulder. "Ruby has some sort of hero worship going on when it comes to you and told me the story."

"It's fine," she said.

It wasn't as though she would tell Ruby something about her that she didn't want anyone to know. The woman might be the closest thing she has to a friend but that didn't mean Regina was open to her any more than she had been to anyone else in her life.

Graham nodded, smiling at her as he informed, "Emma said she'd wait for you by the north gate."

She frowned, as trips into town usually involved a meeting beforehand and Graham seemed to sense the reason as he explained, "She didn't see the point to pulling everyone away from what they were doing when you'd already decided and she spent the afternoon making a list of all the things anyone needed."

That made sense, she thought, though it made her wonder if Emma had slept at all—not that she cared. It would simply be nice to know whether or not she'd be able to rely on the blonde should they find themselves in any danger.

"Well I suppose I should get going then," she replied and removed the quiver from her back, passing it to him as she picked up the pack he brought for her. "Thank you, Graham."

He inclined his head and shouldered the arrows, falling into step with her as they made their way back to town. She would sooner inject herself with the virus that caused all of this before she would admit it to anyone else, but she was feeling a mild sense of nervousness as they closed in on the gate.

She didn't know much about Emma Swan, barring the ramblings of the blonde's best friend, who she assumed was biased. Her son, whom she loved dearly, had ample praise but couldn't entirely be trusted to provide an accurate character reference due to the fact he was a mere twelve years old and almost completely smitten with the woman.

Not that she could blame him.

Another thing she could admit to herself, but would never say out loud, was that Emma Swan was a very attractive woman. When Ruby told her the blonde was a former police officer, she'd had a number of thoughts involving the woman in uniform and—she shook her head.

She had carefully constructed the opinions of those in the community regarding what she wanted them to believe she felt for their leader.

A defiant, seemingly volatile attitude under the guise of a protective mother was easier, and safer, than the ridiculous infatuation she felt grab hold of her whenever she entered a room at the wrong moment and heard the woman's laugh. It had been even worse when she stumbled across the blonde repairing a barricade that one time, drawn to the well-defined biceps that flexed as she worked.

"Hey."

Regina startled, blinking as she realised they were at the gates and emerald eyes studied her curiously. With a disinterested drawl, she replied, "Miss Swan."

She received a cocked eyebrow in response before Emma jumped down from her perch on the wall, landing within inches of the brunette as she looked to Graham. "David is on clean up," she said with a nod to the quiver on his back.

He smiled, taking the hint and bidding them both farewell. "Killian," Emma called out and a head appeared over the wall a moment later. "Close the gate."

"Aye aye, love."

She rolled her eyes at his salute and glanced to Regina. "Come on then," she beckoned, pulling the machete from the sheath at her hip as she started their walk to the city.

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><p>The duration of their trip was made in silence, with Emma sneaking glances back at the brunette every so often. While she was content with the fact Regina had agreed to come, part of her wished the woman would at least speak to her. She had made it clear; at least she thought she had, that she wanted to get to know her better.<p>

They probably wouldn't be the best of friends in the near or even far future and they were civil most of the time, but surely the woman wasn't nearly as reserved as Emma had first thought—she made friends with someone like Ruby after all.

Not that there was anything wrong with Ruby, it was just that she was on the extreme side of extroversion and Emma assumed that was the type of person Regina would normally try to distance herself from. Graham certainly seemed more her speed and she was glad to see Regina branching out, but Emma couldn't figure out what exactly the problem was when it came to her.

She was on the verge of asking before she heard a low groan coming from somewhere to her left and her mouth snapped shut as she stilled with a hand out, stopping the brunette who looked to be lost in thought.

"Walker," she murmured, noticing the flash of annoyance she received, and dropped her arm back to her side.

Her eyes scanned the brush at the side of the road and she quietly extracted one of the knives from her belt as she zeroed in on the form bent over another. She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and the form turned, lurching to its feet.

She watched it stumble forward, head tilted in amusement as she noticed the hand in its mouth, and there came a sigh from beside her before Regina asked, "Are you going to kill it, or were you hoping to interview it for your upcoming talk show?"

Emma smirked, shaking her head as she took aim and released the knife into the air, embedding the blade within the things skull. "It baffles me," she remarked as she moved, bending to retrieve it from the fallen corpse. "Why bother wasting your snark on me?"

When she straightened and turned, Regina's eyes shot up and Emma bit her lip to keep a straight face. So that's why, she thought. She had wondered briefly back in the bathroom yesterday; if she had imagined the lust hidden beneath everything else she had seen in the woman's eyes.

"Never mind," she said and turned back to examine the second corpse.

Male, late thirties she figured—lack of injury surrounding the jugular suggested a natural cause of death. Even after four months, her mind continued to process death as though she were looking at a crime scene and she couldn't seem to rid herself of the habit. She shook the monotone voice from her head and crouched down beside him, stabbing her knife into his skull before she began the unpleasant business of searching his person for anything worth taking with them.

"What do you mean never mind," Regina questioned. "Never mind _what?"_

Emma chuckled at the haughty tone, turning her head to look up at the brunette as she searched through pockets and asked a question of her own, "You're kidding, right?

Regina stared, expression as serious as they come and another chuckle escaped as Emma shook her head. "Damn," she laughed. "You're really going to pretend you weren't just checking out my ass."

"I most certainly was not," Regina snapped.

Oh yeah she was, Emma thought before another thought hit her; maybe that's why Regina spent the whole of their trip walking behind her. She smirked, raised an eyebrow at the brunette who averted her eyes, and then returned to her search.

There wasn't much besides crumpled bits of paper, a Swiss army knife—useful, Emma noted and held it up for Regina to take, which she did. Emma had enough knives, after all. She found a pill bottle in his jacket, which she noticed was spattered with blood but otherwise fairly intact.

"Help me sit him up?"

Regina moved closer, dread pooling in her stomach at the thought of touching a corpse that had likely only died recently. "Why?" she asked, fairly certain she knew the answer already.

"His jacket," Emma answered, blunt yet sympathetic. She hated having to do it as much as anyone would, but he had no use for it and it wasn't as though there were an abundance of couturiers cropping up over the place volunteering to make them all new clothes.

With a grimace, Regina kicked his feet apart and kneeled between his legs. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled as Emma pushed him up by his shoulders, undecided on whether she was relieved or even more disturbed by the fact rigor mortis had yet set in.

"I think he might have had a heart attack," Emma murmured as she pulled the sleeves down his arms. "He had aspirin in his pocket… shit lot of use that did him without the rest of his medication."

"Any number of things could have killed him," Regina reasoned, her own mind no doubt having travelled the same direction the blonde's had.

_We might have saved him._

She released his shirt as they booth stood, eyes scanning the ground. "And aspirin is used for more than heart problems," she added as she zeroed in on what looked to be a backpack. Moving to pick it up, she continued. "Arthritis or erythematosus, hell he might have had a fever for all we knew—or chronic, mild headaches."

"Erythema—whatsus?" Emma interrupted and Regina blinked as if coming out of a trance.

Shaking her head, she explained, "Erythematosus, better known as SLE or Lupus; it basically causes a lot of pain and tissue damage."

"Well if he had that, he's probably happy he's dead," Emma replied flippantly. "How do you know all this?"

Tossing the backpack to her, Regina waved dismissively and replied, "My mother was a doctor," as she moved passed the blonde.

"Well okay then," Emma said, her mind unable to focus on anything other than the tense used.

She didn't think it prudent to enquire further, regardless of how much she wanted to—it wasn't as though it took any stretch of the imagination to assume the woman died. How and when was another matter entirely, but she had a feeling she'd be told to mind her own business if she asked, and rightly so.

Trying to navigate conversational topics with someone who didn't seem the least bit interested in talking to you was—simply put, practically impossible.

Not that it really stopped Emma from trying.

"So," she started, falling into step behind the brunette. "Did I do something wrong? I mean, do you just not like me because I dress funny or something?"

"How you dress is the least of my problems."

She half-expected to be ignored, but the fact she wasn't hardly inspired her to move the conversation along when such a response was extremely unhelpful. "Then…"

She stopped in time to avoid colliding with her as Regina paused mid-step and turned. "Simply put, I don't like you because I don't trust you," she said. "Which I believe, despite your words to the contrary, is the reason you chose me to accompany you on this run in the first place."

"Well nothing builds trust quite like relying on someone to stop a zombie from ripping your throat out with its teeth," Emma stated blankly, resuming their walk as she stepped around the brunette.

It rankled her, truth be told.

While she was more than familiar with the corruption within the police force, she was a former officer and trust was never something she'd had to earn before. Even with most of the group she now lived with, she had theirs almost from the moment she met them.

To have this woman come out of nowhere, tell her that wasn't the way her world worked—part of her understood it, of course, she knew she was being irrational in thinking otherwise, but still. People looked up to her, relied on her to provide for them and keep them safe; they didn't mistrust her.

"Did I offend you, Miss Swan?"

Chewing her lower lip, Emma side-eyed the brunette and shook her head after a moment, releasing her lip as she shrugged and replied, "Yeah… maybe."

Met with silence, she turned her head fully and found Regina's brow furrowed in thought before their eyes met. "That wasn't my intention," she said. "I am aware I have no reason not to trust you, beyond the simple fact that you are a stranger, one that my son has taken an unusual interest in—"

"No," Emma interrupted. "That is in fact a perfectly valid reason not to trust me. You don't know me, which is a good reason for us to being doing this because like or not, there are people who do like me—for whatever reason and we're going to have to work together which means building that trust."

"Then perhaps we are on the same page after all."

"Good," Emma replied, retrieving the bottled water from her backpack. "Want some?"

With a faint smile, Regina accepted. "Thank you, Miss Swan."

"You're welcome, Ms Mills," Emma grinned.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note:** I wanted badass zombie killing but... the muse had other ideas and ? I don't know.

Enjoy, or whatever.

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><p>Electricity was scant during the apocalypse, which meant sticking to shadows was much easier but no less tiresome as the two of them made their way through the city. Given they wouldn't be the only two scavengers about, they needed to be careful and not draw attention to themselves but Emma longed for a time when sneaking around wouldn't be considered the norm.<p>

Zombies were, unsurprisingly, the easiest of dangers to avoid; their inability to operate weapons—guns especially—being the most logical reason, though their terrible eyesight was a fair bonus as well. She could count on one hand the number of people she had come across on her trips that she found reliable, someone she could trust not to shoot her in the back the second she turned around and the majority of them were safe and sound behind the carefully constructed walls of her town.

Assuming the poorly suppressed sighs from beside her were any indication, she was secure in the knowledge that she wasn't the only one who was tired of it all. They were sat on top of a storefront across the road from their third target of the night, and it was the first in which Regina wouldn't be searching with her.

Easing herself down to the ground with the help of the ladder on the side of the building, Emma turned and looked up, barely able to the make out the silhouette of the brunette as Regina leaned over the side. Removing the rifle from her back, Emma held it up for her and said, "If I hear this, I'll come back—so use the crossbow unless you're in trouble."

Regina sighed for the umpteenth time as she reached down and took hold of the barrel. "Are you certain you wouldn't rather I come with you?"

Shaking her head, Emma replied, "Range is your speciality, or so I was told; if I was misinformed…" she trailed off.

"You weren't," Regina admitted grudgingly and Emma nodded.

"Well then…" Emma spun around as she joked, "You can have fun out here picking off zombies that come too close to the store over there, and I'll be inside pretending I'm not afraid of something popping out of nowhere to eat my face while I look for supplies."

Without giving her a chance to respond, Emma jogged to the store across the street and upon testing the door handle, she rolled her eyes and dropped to her knees as she retrieved the hairpin from behind her ear.

Graham had always found her knack for picking locks amusing. "You're a Police Officer!" he'd laugh. Emma smirked as she opened the door and stepped inside.

Who's laughing now, doofus?

Machete in one hand and flashlight in the other, she picked her way through the store, beam gliding across rows and rows of useless junk as she moved towards the back.

The items in the store itself weren't important.

It was one of those natural remedy places that proclaimed spiritual healing through sickly smelling incense while chanting voodoo mambo-jumbo during the third phase of the moon—or some such nonsense, which was why more often than not, one could find them completely overlooked by other scavengers.

The office in the back, however, almost always had something of value; food, alcohol—Graham had even found the .22 calibre pistol he'd given Regina for the trip in one such room—and if she was lucky, there would be food stashed somewhere too.

Slipping around the counter, she ducked down to check for anything beneath the cash register and snorted when all she found was a baseball bat. "Like they wouldn't have taken the gun with them," she mumbled, rolling her eyes at herself as she stood.

As she took a step toward the back, a scratching sound stopped her in her tracks and she held her breath as she waited for it a second time. When it didn't come, she shook her head and continued on, parting the beads that separated the office from the store and entering the small room.

The beam of her flashlight bounced from corner to corner, and once she was convinced there was nothing lying in wait to pounce on her, she tucked it within the belt loop at her hip and began her search.

After ten minutes, she managed to find half a packet of cigarettes, a full bottle of jack and three different forms of medicine—among an excess of worthless items, though she did nab the baseball amidst it all with the thought of Henry in mind.

With a huff of air, she picked up her machete from the desk and turned to the lone door on the other side of the room. Closed doors were rarely ever a good sign, and there wasn't a lot of room to manoeuvre should she regret opening it.

"God stop being a pussy," she growled. "You're a police officer for fuck sakes."

_Former_ police officer who talks to herself, her mind corrected and Emma sighed. Rolling her shoulders, she walked to the door and paused with her hand on the handle as her heart rate increased.

"That's real helpful," she muttered, raising the machete above her shoulder before she turned the knob, threw the door open and stepped back.

Eyes drawn to one side of the room, she had her answer as to what happened to the gun she thought she'd find under the counter and she stared at the two bodies huddled together, candlelight illuminating their forms as the barrel was aimed straight at her head. She dropped the machete and all three flinched at the sound as it hit the floor.

"Hi," she offered with a crooked smile.

"What do you want?"

The boy couldn't have been much older than Henry and the girl glued to his side looked younger still. "Uh supplies," she answered honestly. "Shouldn't you both be with your parents or… someone?"

She followed the girl's gaze and immediately wished she hadn't as she swallowed down the bile in her throat and looked away. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not," the boy replied and her eyes snapped back to him. "They hit us... all the time."

_Assholes._

"Right," she said, rubbing a palm against her thigh to stop from raising her hand to run her fingers through her hair. Nervous habit. "I don't suppose you'd be open to coming with me, somewhere safer?"

He frowned and she breathed a relieved sigh as he lowered the gun, she'd been worried he'd shoot her by accident with the way his hand shook.

"Where?"

"A town… it's about a two hour walk from here?"

He shook his head and gestured to the girl's legs. "She can't walk," he explained and she closed her eyes, his glare across the room all she needed; to know what he hadn't said.

"God people suck," she muttered. Her eyes flew open at his laugh and she smiled, shrugging as she offered, "I can carry her—if she doesn't mind."

"Yeah?"

She nodded.

* * *

><p>Regina frowned as she spotted the silver band meant to signal Emma's return; there were three of them.<p>

Quickly downing the zombie she'd been amusing herself with for the last ten minutes or so, Regina lowered the crossbow and picked up the rifle beside her. Her brow rose in surprise as she realised what Emma had found and she waited until the blonde stood below her before she spoke. "Those do not look like supplies, Miss Swan."

The responding chuckle caused a shiver down her spine before she stood, hand on the railing as she peered over the side and enquired, "Are you going to introduce us?"

Emma grinned. "Axel and Sofia meet Regina Mills—and vice versa," she said, looking up at the brunette as she added, "We'll have to cut the run short."

"I gathered that much," Regina drawled, slipping an arm through the strap on the rifle and throwing it over her shoulder before she picked up the crossbow. "Could you…"

"Yeah I got it." Repositioning the child on her back, Emma reached up to take the weapon from her and passed it to the teen beside her as she said, "I'll make another run tomorrow night with Graham."

"Is my company not good enough for you, Miss Swan?" No matter how hard she tried, Regina couldn't stop the disappointment from seeping into her voice as she climbed down the ladder, and Emma picked up on it immediately.

"No no, I just—" Regina walked right passed her, having no interest in her fumbling for excuses and she heard the boy murmur something to Emma that caused her to groan. "—crap. Regina, come on; I just thought you wouldn't want to leave Henry two nights in a row."

At the mention of him, Regina almost stumbled and for the first time that night, she was glad it was too dark for Emma to have noticed the slight trip in her step. Before she could admit her mistake in jumping to conclusions, however, Axel spoke up again.

"Who's Henry?"

Regina smiled as she turned to face them and she could hear the relief in the sigh Emma released as her attention settled on the boy. "He's my son," she replied with all the pride a mother could have for their child and in her case, she had it in abundance.

"Cool." He came up beside her, Emma on the opposite side and the three started walking together as he asked, "How old is he?"

"Not much younger than you, I imagine; he's twelve." Noting the way he fiddled with the weapon in his hands, she questioned, "Do you know how to use that?"

He shook his head. "I can shoot a gun but… Dad was an idiot."

When he said nothing further, she looked to Emma for an explanation and the blonde shrugged. By the expression on her face, she obviously had some level of understanding but as she didn't seem to want to share, Regina let it go for the moment and refocused on the boy.

"I taught my son how to use one—I could teach you, or he could if you'd prefer," she offered. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Yeah?"

Her smile widened at his hopeful tone. "Yes."

* * *

><p>Were time relevant, Emma would have guessed it was somewhere around two in the morning when Ruby opened the gate for them. She was tired, wanting nothing more than to crawl into her bed but as soon as she caught sight of Graham, she knew it wasn't going to be that simple.<p>

"What happened?"

Graham tilted his head back, as if looking for inspiration before he released a breath and returned her gaze. "About two hours after you left, a man showed up at the gate looking for help," he said and she nodded for him to continue. "Mary Margaret was on the wall—"

She sighed. "I'm tired, get to the point."

"She let him in," Ruby supplied and Graham nodded. "He was bitten."

Emma froze and for a second, her blood ran cold before anger took over, flooding her veins. "Take her," she said from between clenched teeth and Graham moved, carefully prying the small arms from around her shoulders as he took the girl into his own.

She marched through the town, up to the building where the injured were kept. She pushed through the doors into the infirmary, followed close behind by Regina who had yet to speak a word. Emma glanced to the cot that held the man and her anger rose to new heights as she turned her attention to the woman sat beside him.

"One rule," she spat. "I have one rule that I made each and every person here swear they would never break. One rule that you all promised to obey."

"I—"

Emma cut her off with a snarled, "What was it?"

"Tha…" Snow stuttered, "…that we would never—"

"Never allow anyone bitten into these walls," Emma snapped impatiently. "And why? Why do we have this rule?"

Head hanging, Snow answered with a murmured, "Because it endangers everyone here."

"And yet here we are."

Snow shot up from the bed as her voice rose. "You don't know that he will turn!" she shouted.

Fast recovering from her shock at the woman's sudden growth of a backbone, Emma stepped forward and growled, "I am not taking that risk and if you can't abide by that simple rule then you are no longer welcome here."

"Letting him die out there was not the right thing to do," Snow defended and Emma laughed, the sound mocking.

"There is a difference between doing the right thing, and doing a stupid thing. You put every single life here in jeopardy, lives I promised to protect and I will not have you undermining me."

Gesturing to the man on the cot, she said, "You will take this man, you will take him beyond the gate and you will do as you should have done when he approached."

"What? No!" Snow gasped; appalled that Emma would dare suggest such a thing. "I won't kill him!"

Emma smiled without humour as she spoke, "You will because if you don't, I will and then you and your husband will leave this town with the same as you arrived; nothing."

Turning on her heel, she added over her shoulder, "You have an hour to decide," before throwing open the doors and leaving the woman behind.

Once she was outside, she pressed her back to the wall of the building, closing her eyes and taking a few short, calming breathes. It wasn't until she spoke that Emma remembered the brunette had been there throughout the entire exchange.

"That was unexpected," came the silky drawl and her eyes snapped open, landing on Regina who stood less than a foot from her with a look of confusion.

Emma stared, silent and waiting. She wasn't in the mood to decode the woman's meaning.

"Aren't you two friends?"

She scoffed, sliding down the wall and leaning her head back. "Even if we were, all these people expect me to protect them and I can't do that if she—or anyone, can't follow a simple fucking rule."

"Oh, I understand," Regina replied, gracefully falling to the ground and folding her legs as she explained her line of thought. "I simply assumed your heart too—good, to abandon someone as you've threatened to do should she refuse your ultimatum. Even more surprising was your inclusion of David."

Emma grimaced at the reminder; she wouldn't let him go if she had the choice. "If those two weren't joined at the hip, I'd happily throw her out on her own. As for my heart—" she shrugged. "I have about twenty other people here to think about, a lot of them kids and their lives are more important."

"Still… a decision like that can't be easy."

"Nothing about our lives now is easy but…"

Eyebrow raised curiously, Regina prompted, "But?"

"It isn't as difficult as I think maybe it should be," Emma admitted, shaking her head at herself. "It just seems logical to me and that makes it feel easy—maybe I would think about it later and maybe I'd regret it a little but right here, right now I'm indifferent to it. If she can't follow one simple rule that is there to protect everyone, she has to go; it's as simple as that."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note: **Sorry it isn't longer. I was going to add more, but then I realised it was a fairly good place to end it. Still writing it though, so there might be another chapter up in a couple of days. No promises.

* * *

><p>Killian dragged the man from the infirmary to the front gate and Regina followed, walking beside the blonde who held a gun at her hip, ready to do what needed to be done should Mary Margaret attempt to refuse once more.<p>

As they reached the gate, Emma climbed on to the platform lining the wall as Killian continued forward and dropped the man at David and Mary's feet. Regina looked around to see that a majority of the town had gathered, and breathed a sigh when she found no sight of her son nor Axel and Sofia. She supposed it would be difficult for Henry to convince Ruby to let him watch when he refused to speak to anyone besides her.

Turning back to the scene before her, she watched everything unfold with mild amusement as Mary pleaded with Emma while David tried to appear comforting. He wore a slight grimace, and even for someone who hadn't known him all that long, Regina could tell he was somewhat annoyed—whether at Emma or his own wife, she couldn't be certain.

"Emma please, can't we just leave him and close the gates?"

"If you would rather remain out there until he turns so your conscience stays clean, feel free to do so." Emma shrugged, clearly indifferent to the desperation evident in the older woman's tone as she added, "But until he's dead by your hand, you won't be coming back in here."

There were hushed murmurs all around, but none of the others questioned her words and Regina found herself impressed by their obvious show of loyalty.

When she had first come to the small town and met Emma, she had assumed the blonde was simply another amateur playing at being in charge until she grew tired of the responsibility—like so many others she had come across. Over the last two weeks, she realised she had been too quick to judge and while she had come to begrudgingly respect the woman, it wasn't until then that she felt herself actually accept the fact.

Emma Swan was their leader, and Regina needed to start treating her like one if she wanted to remain a member of their little community.

"Let me do it," she heard David say and caught the shake of Emma's head.

"She is the one who put us at risk and she needs to own her mistakes," Emma replied. "I know she meant well, but good intentions don't keep us safe and if I let you do this, then what's to stop her from doing it again?"

Shocked, the question that came was barely less than a screech as Mary yelled up at her, "You would have me kill someone to teach me a lesson?"

Emma stared down at her, expression blank and voice hollow as she answered, "You saw what those things did to Archie and Victor, and still you allowed that man into our _home_."

Anger slowly creeped into her tone as she went on and Regina felt goose bumps that rose on her flesh in response. "If anyone needs to be taught a goddamn lesson; it's _you_," Emma snapped, raising her gun and lining it up with the man's head.

"Now kill him before I do."

"No," Mary refused and Emma sighed. "I won't do—."

The gunshot rang out before she finished speaking and Emma turned, calling for the gates to be closed as she dropped from the platform. Regina watched as she disappeared into one of the buildings, no doubt exhausted and wanting to at least attempt to sleep.

Regina hoped she managed it.

* * *

><p>"I'm not in the mood for company," Emma said a few hours later, not bothering to look up from the table where her breakfast was mixed within the bowl to the point it was almost impossible to discern its original form.<p>

"How unfortunate for you," came the drawled reply and she raised her head, sighing and pushing her meal away as the brunette smoothly dropped into the chair across from her.

"Should you be wasting food?"

"I'll eat it later," she dismissed, folding her arms over her chest as she leaned back in her seat. "What do you want?"

Dark eyes regarded her for a moment before the brunette questioned, "Was it difficult?"

It should have been, Emma thought, knowing exactly what Regina was referencing. Closing the gate while Mary and David remained on the outside had been one of the easiest decisions she'd had to make yet, and that was the crux of her problem this morning. It should have been harder. Those two had been with her almost from the start, but she had always had problems with Mary Margaret and despite David pulling more than his fair share of the weight, it always irked Emma that the woman never _did _anything.

"I'll miss David," she admitted after a few minutes, lifting her shoulders in a shrug. "I told them what would happen and she still refused; what choice did I have?"

"Some would argue you had numerous choices." Regina silenced her protest with a wave of her hand and explained, "_I _wouldn't, specifically. You did what you said you would and that is what matters in the end; to go back on your word would make you a poor leader, which you are not."

Surprise widened emerald eyes. "Was that a compliment, Your Majesty?" Emma teased, pale lips quirking with a faint smile.

"Perhaps," Regina replied with a smile of her own. "I'm beginning to see you're not quite as incompetent as I first assumed."

"High praise," Emma grinned, reaching for her bowl and setting it back in front of her.

"Indeed," Regina agreed, eyebrow cocked as she watched what had once been porridge and some form of fruit disappear at an alarming speed. "How you haven't choked to death yet, however, will continue to baffle me."

"Stakeouts, rushing to crime scenes, little league on Sundays," Emma supplied, shoving another spoonful into her mouth. "You learn to eat fast; lots of trial and error."

"So you _have _almost choked to death—numerous times, consider me slightly less baffled," Regina deadpanned, returning the blonde's grin with a shake of her head. "Have you seen Henry this morning?"

Nodding, Emma gestured to the doors leading outside. "Axel asked him to teach him how to use a bow," she said. "I don't think he'll want to hang out with us anymore; totally blaming you for that, by the way."

"Hmm," Regina hummed. "If that happens to be the case, I'll attempt to feign disappointment should you refuse to interact with me in future."

"That's all I ask," Emma stated, gathering her bowl as she stood and continued to grin at the brunette. "You gonna come to the training yard with me to make sure they haven't shot each other?"

With a sigh, Regina stood too but shook her head. "I'm on wall duty with Graham until this afternoon, but I would appreciate it if you would remind Henry about safety; he tends to get overexcited when given responsibility."

"I can do that," Emma assured and she started walking for the kitchen nook. Before she disappeared from Regina's sight, she added over her shoulder, "Have fun with the wolf man."

* * *

><p>Ascending the ladder, Regina raised an eyebrow as Graham turned to her with a smile and she greeted him with a question. "Wolf man?"<p>

He narrowed his eyes but turned his back to her as he replied, "Whatever Emma told you is a bold-faced lie."

"She told me nothing," she admitted with a soft chuckle, coming to stand beside him. When he remained silent, she nudged him in the ribs with her elbow and he sighed.

"In that case, I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, sounding almost convincing enough that someone with a lesser intelligence might have considered dropping the conversation.

She was not one such person. "Despite my better judgment, I now find myself curious," she commented, all manner of reasons for the nickname rolling through her mind. She assumed it had come about during their time working together, though she couldn't quite grasp a reason that made a lick of sense within that context.

"That's a shame," he muttered.

"Are you going to tell me why she calls you that?"

He shook his head and replied, "No, I am not."

"I could simply ask her next time," she commented, an airy quality to the tone of her voice, as though she could wait that long for her curiosity to be sated.

She couldn't.

"When did you two suddenly become friends?" He looked to her, a suspicious squint to the set of his eyes as he said, "I thought you both communicated by hurling glaringly obvious insults wrapped in childishness and sass at each other."

Regina sniffed as if offended, though the grin she wore displayed her true amusement at his defensiveness. "We've evolved," she reasoned. "Now back to the subject at hand..."

He feigned confusion and she rolled her eyes before he even asked, "What subject would that be?"

"Your adorable nickname," she cooed, batting her eyelashes.

"Ugh," he grimaced, throwing his hands into the air in surrender.

And that was how she learned Graham had once dated a friend of Emma's who liked to share far too much information when it involved her partner's drunken activities in the bedroom. Regina laughed, loudly, as he explained that _once_—with serious emphasis on the word—he had maybe… howled while the two of them were having sex, which made his face turn beet red and caused her to laugh even harder at his expense.

For the two to three hours following, he had shared other stories with her, most of which revolved around the blonde and their friendship. She even remembered and asked him about Emma's little league comment from earlier, and was surprised to learn the woman had coached a variety of child sports over the years.

It reasoned that with Emma's affinity for children, it was only natural that Henry had gravitated toward her. This newfound information lead to Regina softening further as she began to understand their leader and her many apparent charms, and it came as no surprise to herself that when her shift ended and she was replaced by Killian, she found herself walking to the training yard seemingly without thought.

What did surprise her was the fact Axel, Henry and Emma were still there but more so, was that Emma was in the midst of performing a show of skill of sorts and her son was commenting excitedly from behind her.

When he spotted her, he beamed and she offered him a proud smile. She knew his silence wouldn't last and she was glad he had somehow found the courage to act more like himself, regardless of his reason for doing so as her eyes settled appreciatively on the blonde.

Emma possessed a certain grace with a blade but what held Regina's attention were the taunting flex of muscles beneath the slight gleam of pale flesh. She felt her cheeks heat the longer she stared and her pulse raced, an unexpected—yet somehow expected at the same time—flare of arousal igniting in the pit of her stomach.

Upon catching sight of her, Emma came to a sudden stand still and the oddly warm smile that appeared on her lips forced Regina to recognise the theme of that day as she admitted yet another fact to herself; whatever she felt for Emma Swan was decidedly _more _than simple attraction.


End file.
